# Arma > London, United Kingdom ## Overview **Name:** Arma **Description:** ARMA is a luxury Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and wellness club in Clapham, London, combining world-class coaching with elite recovery facilities. Founded to make high-level BJJ accessible to everyone, ARMA offers a complete training experience beyond just technique—building real resilience through training, recovery, and community. Led by head coach Ffion Davies, a multiple-time world champion, ARMA's coaching team includes some of the UK's top BJJ talent. The facility features two full mat spaces for Gi and No-Gi training, complemented by a dedicated wellness area with sauna, cold plunge, and a fully equipped gym for strength and conditioning. Members also enjoy access to a co-working lounge and coffee shop, creating a space where you can train, work, and recover all under one roof. ARMA's structured progression pathway guides students from their first day through an 8-week Beginner's Cohort into Fundamentals, Intermediate, and Advanced classes. Programs include adult BJJ (Gi and No-Gi), competition training, open mat sessions, kids BJJ (Little ARMAs ages 4-6, ARMA Kids ages 7-11), teen programs (ages 12+), and personal training with small group sessions limited to 4 people. The gym emphasizes technical precision, tactical awareness, and competition-level intensity for those ready to test their limits. **Status:** Active ## Contact Information **Address:** 18-20 Bromell's Rd, Clapham, London London SW4 0BG, United Kingdom **Phone:** 020 8129 0847 **Email:** info@armabjj.com **Website:** https://www.armabjj.com/ **Social Media:** - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/armabjj ## Hours of Operation - Monday: 6:00 AM - 9:00 PM - Tuesday: 6:00 AM - 9:00 PM - Wednesday: 6:00 AM - 9:00 PM - Thursday: 6:00 AM - 9:00 PM - Friday: 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM - Saturday: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM - Sunday: 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM ## Facilities & Amenities Showers, Lockers, Parking ## Instructors ### Ffion Davies - Black **Role:** Head Instructor **Bio:** Ffion Eira Davies was born on January 18, 1995, in Swansea, Wales. Showing interest in physical activities from a young age, Ffion was signed on to different sports from a young age, namely rugby and judo – a martial art she joined at the age of 8, and competed extensively, becoming a Welsh and British Open champion (junior division) as well as a member of the Welsh National Judo team. Although judo was a big part of her childhood, during her adolescence Davies struggled with self-confidence and felt she didn’t have any solid friendships on the team. Growing disenchanted with the sport, Ffion decided to take a break from any competitive activities. She returned to judo aged 17 for a brief period, but by then the love for the game had faded and once again decided to step away. In 2013 Ffion Davies found out about mixed martial arts (MMA) and in November that year, decided to join a gym. It was through MMA training that Davies discovered jiu-jitsu, finding similarities to judo but with lesser restrictions, Ffion quickly fell in love with the gi once again. Swansea BJJ pioneer Chris Rees became Ffion’s first BJJ instructor, one who graded Davies with her blue belt. Although still linked with the Rees affiliation up until her purple belt, soon after her promotion, Ffion and her then-boyfriend chose to sever ties with CRA, to join forces with Darragh O’Conaill ‘s East Coast BJJ academy. With EC’s headquarters set in Ireland, the couple followed coach Darragh’s program from a satellite gym set in Cardiff (WAL) – CF24. On June 2018, after splitting from her partner – owner of CF24, Davies decided to spend some time in Ireland, training with coach O’Conaill. Finding Irish living to be a very positive experience, Ffion decided to prolong her stay and settle in Dublin, and it would be there that Davies was promoted to black belt, on November 27, 2018, by coach Darragh O’Conaill. Ffion is a Welsh name, which means Foxglove. The name is often confused with a misspelling error due to its use of two F’s combined. The reason for the FF at the start of the name, however, derives from the inexistence of the letter V in the Welsh alphabet. Instead, the “V” sound is represented by a single F, while F (or Ph) is written as FF. Ffion Davies vs Larissa Campos Ffion Davies vs Emilia Tuukkanen ### Ana Lopez **Role:** Instructor ### Charles Allan Price **Role:** Instructor ### Christian Ozbek **Role:** Instructor ### Eoghan O'Flanaghan - Black **Role:** Instructor **Bio:** Eoghan O’Flanagan was born on March 15, 1996, in London, England, growing up in the North West area. Martial arts arrived early in Eoghan’s life. By the end of his toddler age, he was already practicing judo, an activity he kept until he age 11, competing often during this childhood. When he was 14, O’Flanagan decided to return to his old judo club but fate would have it that he arrived to the sports centre at the wrong schedule and a jiu-jitsu class was taking place instead. Coming in with an open mind, he joined in and discovered it was similar and as enjoyable as his old sport to the extent that he decided to start training regularly. For the first 6 months of training, Eoghan practiced only 3 times per week, but soon after he began picking the pace and practicing 7 days per week, with judo sessions included in his routine, a schedule he maintained from 14-18. Eoghan O’Flanagan started training with Felipe de Souza and Rory Quarrier, as well as Anthony Chahal and Nicky Robinson, who graded him through the BJJ belt ranking. When he was 18 Eoghan moved to Cardiff, Wales, to attend the local university where he trained under Craig Ewers (18-22) after which he returned to New School BJJ in London. Around 2015 Nicky Robinson was preparing for the ADCC Trials and Eoghan became one of his main sparring partners. In an attempt to improve his No-Gi skills for the ruleset, O’Flanagan started researching leg-locking techniques which ended up becoming a specialty of his and the main focus of his competitive career from then on. On April 28, 2018, Eoghan O’Flanagan was promoted to black belt at New School BJJ. Although a student of Anthony Chahal and Nicky Robinson, the promotion was formally led by Helio Soneca , who was the association’s team leader. Throughout Eoghan O’Flanagan’s career, he has been associated with different London-based teams, primarily Los Banditos Grappling Club, a workgroup he started alongside some of the region’s top no-gi grapplers in 2024. ### Joss Ayres **Role:** Instructor ### Nia Blackman **Role:** Instructor **Bio:** Nia Blackman was born in June 2004 in London, England, and grew up in the Southwest region of the UK capital. Connected to sports from an early age, Nia eventually found her way to jiu-jitsu at the age of 5, starting with Felipe Souza at the BJJ School in Battersea, a tuition that would later be taken over by Anthony Chahal. Heavily supported by her family, namely parents George & Sherise Blackman, Nia took off on the competition scene, competing first at a national level and soon after, internationally, with her younger brother and sister soon accompanying her on the tournament circuit. As an orange belt, Nia decided to embrace a career in BJJ and sought to train in a more competitive environment. She found what she was looking for in 2018 at Fightzone in East London with coach Marco Canha, who ran one of the best competitive programs in the country. As she moved across the ranks, Nia Blackman became widely regarded as one of the rising stars of Europe’s grappling, a reputation earned with many big wins in the IBJJF league. Her medals earned Nia her black belt on June 17, 2024, from the hands of Marco Canha. Later in 2024, Nia became a representative of the Birmingham-based Royal Jiu-Jitsu Academy, a workgroup led by Bradley Hill and a former colleague at FZN, Samantha Cook. NOTE REGARDING NIA BLACKMAN’S RECORD Traditionally, BJJ Heroes only accounted for black belt records as they signify an athlete’s entry into our sport’s elite ranks. Blackman, however, is a special case as she has been competing in the pro-grappling circuit since he was a brown belt. This has left BJJ Heroes with a delicate predicament of defining when to start accounting for the young prodigy’s match records. Considering how Nia won gold at the ADCC Trials as a brown belt, and her incredible performances in the professional mixed category of brown and black belts of the AJP Tour with this belt rank, we have decided to add his matches before her official promotion to black belt. Our readers should keep this in mind when addressing Nia’s career career. ### Paxton Gibbons **Role:** Instructor ### Richard Manson **Role:** Instructor ### Samuel Thomas F. Gibson - Black **Role:** Instructor **Bio:** Head Gi Coach specializing in traditional Brazilian Jiu Jitsu with the gi ### Stuart Cooper **Role:** Instructor ### Tarik Hopstock - Black **Role:** Instructor **Bio:** Tarik Hopstock was born on May 10, 1996, in Oslo, Norway. Tarik’s first attempt at martial arts came through judo, an activity he practiced during his tweens at a local club. Although the experience was highly positive, his gym only offered one (1) judo class per week, a scarce schedule that did not satiate Hopstock’s training needs. While looking for another workgroup that offered a busier timetable, Tarik was invited by a friend to come and visit the Frontline Academy, an offer accepted by the young Norwegian. At the Frontline Academy, Tarik discovered jiu-jitsu and met the team’s leader, Eduardo Rios (Teta) – one of the most charismatic and knowledgeable coaches on the European Continent – whose relationship with Hopstock is often mentioned by Tarik as a deciding factor in his sporting success. As a juvenile athlete, Tarik started showing signs of his potential in the local circuit. Noticing Hopstock’s qualities, coach Rios pushed his student to attend the adult classes, a decision that helped Tarik’s growth tremendously. It was also the added hardship of practicing with his adult teammates that helped Hopstock develop one of his most celebrated creations – the Tarikoplata – a modified shoulder lock ( check more details about this position here ). In an interview given to BJJ Heroes back in September 2020, Tarik Hopstock said of the Tarikoplata ‘s inception: “ It started with how I struggled to pull people’s arms out from the top kimura position. This was around 2014. So, one day after class I was trying to solve the problem with some of my teammates. A lot of the times I would try to almost deadlift the arm out or just go back to the D’Arce choke. My thought was that there had to be some technical way to advance with attacking the arm. After some trial and error I ended up passing the leg over my partner’s hip line, but we were all skeptical about the move at the time. We thought it was too risky turning your back to the opponent. Later I started to recognize the position for the bottom and had successfully applied it to my game. We didn’t even call it Tarikoplata until I had gotten it numerous times in competitions. ” The talent displayed during his juvenile grappling career only improved as Tarik moved on to the adult division. After numerous medals in the sport’s top events, and wins over many high-level competitors, Hopstock was promoted to black belt by his long-time instructor, Eduardo Rios, in a ceremony that took place on December 05, 2021. ABOUT TARIK HOPSTOCK’S GRAPPLING RECORD Although Tarik made his black belt debut on February 2022, at the European Open, the Norwegian grappler had competed in previous years, as a brown belt, in a few of the sport’s top pro-circuit events, namely in Polaris & Copa Pódio. Although BJJ Heroes traditionally only accounts for adult black belt matches (the main division in our sport), we believed these previous matches were landmarks in Hopstock’s career and worth including in his record. ### Taylor Pearman **Role:** Instructor ### Tommy Langaker - Black **Role:** Instructor **Bio:** Tommy Langaker was born on February 8, 1994, in Haugesund – Norway. His first experiences with martial arts came through Ju-Jutsu (JJ) which he started at the age of 11. JJ is also known as Japanese Ju-Jutsu or traditional Ju-Jutsu, a very popular combat style in Scandinavia during the early 2000s. At 17 Tommy was introduced to the Brazilian form of jiu-jitsu through a friend who already practiced this grappling discipline. At the time Langaker had fallen disenchanted with traditional Ju-Jutsu and was already looking for a different experience, a set of circumstances that fit in perfectly for the young Norwegian to prosper in BJJ. Luis Alberto Armas was Langaker’s first instructor, the native of Peru was a purple belt at the time, with an affiliation to Luiz Guigo , and although he wasn’t of higher rank Armas made a lasting impression on Tommy’s game and competition focus. As he got more involved with the competitive side of jiu-jitsu, Tommy started traveling around the world to participate in the world’s top events. During these travels, Langaker became good friends with a similar minded Norwegian athlete, Espen Mathiesen who became another important figure in Langaker’s rise to a black belt. The two decided to take their grappling careers more seriously becoming affiliated with the Art Of Jiu-Jitsu (AOJ) academy in California towards the end of 2014. An academy led by Guilherme and Rafael Mendes . Joining AOJ set Langaker’s goals even higher, and by 2015 he decided to become a full-time athlete working sporadically in carpentry to pay his bills. While under the guidance of the Mendes brothers Tommy earned his brown belt (2015). After this period in California, the young Scandinavian decided to return to his motherland, then joining one of the strongest teams in Europe: Kimura/Nova Uniao with coach José Carlos . As a brown belt and under José Carlos’ guidance, Tommy’s career took a big step in a positive direction with wins at the IBJJF European Open, Pan American Championship as well as Copa Pódio. These wins paved the way to his black belt promotion, which took place in June 2017. [fighter_status id=752] Tommy Langaker vs Max Lindblad (2017) ### Frankie Renda **Role:** Assistant ## Programs ### Fundamentals **Skill Level:** Beginner **Age Group:** adults **Gi Requirement:** Gi required **Description:** Essential techniques forming the backbone of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Focus on developing strong, practical foundations. Perfect for those completing the Beginner's Cohort or experienced grapplers refining core skills. ### Intermediate Gi **Skill Level:** Intermediate **Age Group:** adults **Gi Requirement:** Gi required **Description:** Bridge the gap between basics and advanced techniques with fluid transitions, positional strategy, and submissions. Includes more live sparring and situational drills. ### Advanced Gi **Skill Level:** Advanced **Age Group:** adults **Gi Requirement:** Gi required **Description:** High-paced drilling, intricate sequences, and focused sparring for experienced practitioners. Refine technical precision, tactical awareness, and competition-level intensity. ### No-Gi **Skill Level:** All Levels **Age Group:** adults **Gi Requirement:** No-Gi **Description:** Faster, more dynamic expression of BJJ trained in rash guard and shorts. Greater freedom of movement with emphasis on transitions and scrambles, popular for MMA crossover. ### Beginner's Cohort **Skill Level:** Beginner **Age Group:** adults **Gi Requirement:** Gi required **Description:** 8-week structured program guiding complete beginners through their first steps in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Build foundations of movement, technique, and confidence alongside others new to BJJ. ### Competition Training **Skill Level:** Advanced **Age Group:** adults **Gi Requirement:** No-Gi **Description:** Intense sessions for athletes preparing for tournaments with live positional training and high-paced sparring. Less technical breakdown, more focus on recreating match conditions. ### Open Mat **Skill Level:** All Levels **Age Group:** all_ages **Gi Requirement:** No-Gi **Description:** Freedom to train on your own terms - lifting, mobility work, conditioning, or refining techniques. Fully equipped space for self-directed training. ### Little ARMA's **Skill Level:** Beginner **Age Group:** kids **Gi Requirement:** Gi required **Description:** Foundational BJJ program for ages 4-6 building confidence, coordination, and focus through playful technique. Develops body awareness, discipline, and problem-solving. ### ARMA Kids **Skill Level:** All Levels **Age Group:** kids **Gi Requirement:** Gi required **Description:** Program for ages 7-11 blending technical BJJ with structured movement and problem-solving. Develops sharper focus, coordination, and calm under pressure. ### ARMA Teens **Skill Level:** All Levels **Age Group:** kids **Gi Requirement:** Gi required **Description:** Next-stage program for ages 12+ focusing on technical progression, discipline, and physical development. Builds confidence, self-awareness, and resilience with competition pathways. ### ARMA PT **Skill Level:** All Levels **Age Group:** adults **Gi Requirement:** No-Gi **Description:** Personal training in curated groups of 4 with goal-driven coaching. Includes strength, conditioning, mobility work, plus unlimited access to Functional HIIT/Strength classes and wellness area. --- **Last Updated:** March 04, 2026 **Data Source:** BJJ.Space (https://bjj.space/gyms/united-kingdom/england/london/arma)